Truck box with reduced clearance cover and access for electrical cord passthrough

ABSTRACT

The truck box is provided with a reduced clearance cover and a 90 degree cover opening. The mounting arrangement for the cover is offset from the back wall of the box. Thus, less clearance is required to accommodate the cover of the box in its open 90 degree position. The truck box is also provided with an access for electrical cord passthrough in one of its walls through which an electrical cord can be fed. As a result, power can be safely and easily provided to equipment positioned on the box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of storage devices for motorvehicles. More particularly, this invention relates to storage devicesfor pickup trucks.

2. Description of Related Art

Storage devices, more particularly, truck boxes are commonly used withpickup trucks and vary in size, shape, finish, and efficiency. They aretypically designed to integrate to the contours and cavities present inpick-up truck beds and are used to store and transport tools, hardware,and equipment used for various projects. Although a number of truckboxes are currently on the market, all of them suffer from commondrawbacks.

When mounted, a truck box needs to take up as little space as possiblein the bed of a pickup truck while still providing adequate storagespace. In the currently available truck boxes, the covers are mounteddirectly on the back wall of the truck boxes. Thus, when the covers arepivoted to the open position, enough room must be left in the bed of thepickup truck to accommodate the depth of the box as well as the depth ofthe cover.

Further, in many of the available truck boxes, the covers typically openup to less than a 90 degree opening. Such an opening makes the removalof tools and other equipment cumbersome.

Additionally, some equipment stored in the truck box requires access toan electric supply. For example, battery chargers stored in the truckbox must be connected to a power supply in order to charge the batteriesused with tools such as drills. In the past, some contractors drilled ahole through the wall of the box in order to allow access to a powersupply, which was a time-consuming exercise. Alternatively, cords wererun from the equipment over the side wall of the box to a power supply.When the cover of the box was shut, it would pinch the cord between thecover and the top of the side wall. The presence of the cord makes itdifficult for the box to be locked properly. Understandably, both priorpractices are undesirable for the contractor.

Accordingly, there is a need for a truck box that provides a reducedclearance cover that requires less truck bed space for mounting.Further, there is a need for a truck box with a 90 degree cover openingfor easy access to the equipment contained in the box. Lastly, there isa need to provide an access in the truck box to allow for electricalcord passthrough.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets the shortcomings of the prior art byproviding a truck box with a reduced clearance cover and a 90 degreecover opening. The mounting arrangement for the cover is offset from theback wall of the box. Thus, less clearance is required to accommodatethe cover of the box in its open position. Accordingly, the truck boxwith such a cover requires less truck bed space for mounting whilefacilitating access to the tools and supplies contained in the truckbox.

Further, the present invention meets the shortcomings of the prior artby providing an access for electrical cord passthrough. Specifically,the truck box is provided with an access in one of the side walls of thetruck box through which an electrical cord can be fed. As a result,power can be safely and easily provided to equipment positioned on thebox.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the truck box of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the truck box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the mounting arrangement of the cover of FIG.1.

FIGS. 4A-B depict the grommet shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a truck box 10 has a storage compartment 11, afront wall 12, a back wall 14, two side walls 16, 18 extending betweenthe front and back walls, and a bottom wall 20. The box 10 furtherincludes a top cover 22 that is pivotable between an open and a closedposition. The cover 22 is provided with a pair of latches 26, 28 thatmate with a pair of latching mechanisms (not shown) on the front wall 12of the box 10 in order to lock the box 10. Each side wall 16, 18 has aprotruding shelf 32, 34 that extends therefrom and rests upon respectiveside walls of a pickup truck cargo bed. The side walls are each providedwith a pushbutton 36 (only one shown) for operating the latchingmechanisms.

The top edge of the back wall 14 is provided with an abutment 40, as canbe seen in FIG. 2. The purpose of this abutment is to accommodate aportion of the bottom wall 42 of the top cover 22 when the cover is inits open position. Since a portion of the cover is accommodated withinthis abutment 40 in the open position, the cover 22 is recessed andtakes up less space in the bed of a pickup truck as compared tocurrently available truck boxes that have conventionally mounted covers.

Referring to FIG. 3, a detailed view of the mounting arrangement of thecover on the truck box is shown. The cover 22 is mounted to the backwall 14 via a hinge interface 43 affixed to the back wall 14 of thetruck box via fasteners 44. The hinge interface 43 may comprise acontinuous piano hinge while the fasteners 44 may take the form of boltsor rivets.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the top cover 22 of the truck box 10pivots to an open position. The angle between the cover and the storagecompartment in the open position is between 85 degrees to 95 degrees,preferably 90 degrees. Such an opening facilitates access to the toolsand supplies contained in the truck box. The egress into the box allowsfor 90 degree opening while minimizing the amount of clearance spacerequired behind the box. Thus, the current invention improves the lossof useable space within the truck bed by reducing the distance the boxmust be pulled away from the cab wall when opening the cover to 90degrees.

Now turning to another aspect of the present invention, the truck box 10is provided with an access for electrical cord passthrough. As can beseen in FIG. 2, the side wall 16 of the chest 10 is provided with aperforated access 50. The exact shape and location of the access 50 canvary. In the preferred embodiment, the shape of the access 50 is acircular hole.

In use, a contractor places a rubber insert or grommet 52 in the access50, the metal having previously been knocked out at the manufacturingfacility. An electrical cord can then be passed through the grommet 52and connected to a 12 volt power supply. The grommet 52 protects thecord as well as the inside of the truck box 10 from direct weather suchas rain or snow.

As can be seen from FIGS. 4A-B, the grommet 52 has an outercircumference 54 provided with a groove 56 for mounting to the side wall16 of the chest 10. The grommet 52 includes a scored surface 58 thatenables a cord to be inserted or removed therethough. The grommet 52 maybe constructed of rubber.

The electrical cord access 50 of the present invention allowselectricity to be provided to equipment stored in the truck box 10.Thus, battery chargers, for example, stored in the box can chargebatteries overnight once connected to a power source. Further, thegrommet 52 protects the cord as well as the inside of the chest from theelements.

The truck box is constructed of 0.100 and 0.063 smooth and tread platealuminum. Alternately, different gauges of aluminum or even steel may beused.

While certain features and embodiments of the present invention havebeen described in detail herein, it is to be understood that theinvention encompasses all modifications and enhancements within thescope and spirit of the following claims.

1. A storage box for a vehicle having a cargo bed, said storage boxcomprising: a. a storage compartment having a front wall, a back wall,two side walls extending between the front and back walls, and a bottomwall, the back wall including an abutment along a top edge; and b. a topcover mounted to one of the walls, the cover being pivotable between anopen position and a closed position, a portion of the cover beingaccommodated within the abutment when the cover is in its open position.2. The storage box of claim 1 wherein the angle between the cover andthe storage compartment in the open position is 90 degrees.
 3. Thestorage box of claim 1 wherein the cover is mounted to one of the wallsvia a hinge interface.
 4. The storage box of claim 1 wherein the coveris mounted to the back wall of the storage compartment.
 5. The storagebox of claim 1 further including an access provided on one of the wallsfor electrical cord passthrough.
 6. The storage box of claim 1 whereinthe vehicle is a pick-up truck.
 7. The storage box of claim 1 whereinthe top cover includes a back wall, a portion of the back wall beingaccommodated within the abutment when the cover is in its open position8. A storage box for a vehicle having a cargo bed, said storage boxcomprising: a. a storage compartment having a front wall, a back wall,two side walls extending between the front and back walls, and a bottomwall; b. a top cover mounted to one of the walls, the cover beingpivotable between an open position and a closed position; and c. anaccess provided on one of the walls for electrical cord passthrough,thereby providing access to a power supply for equipment contained inthe storage box.
 9. The storage box of claim 8 wherein the access is aperforated opening.
 10. The storage box of claim 9 further comprising agrommet that is to be inserted into the perforated opening once a diskof material is removed from the hole.
 11. The storage box of claim 8wherein the access is a perforated circular hole.
 12. The storage box ofclaim 8 wherein the cover is mounted to one of the walls via a hingeinterface.
 13. The storage box of claim 8 wherein the cover is mountedto the back wall of the storage compartment.
 14. The storage box ofclaim 8 wherein the angle between the cover and the storage compartmentin the open position is 90 degrees.
 15. A storage box for a vehiclehaving a cargo bed, said storage box comprising: a. a storagecompartment having a front wall, a back wall, two side walls extendingbetween the front and back walls, and a bottom wall, the back wallincluding an abutment along a top edge; b. a top cover mounted to one ofthe walls, the cover being pivotable between an open position and aclosed position, a portion of the cover being accommodated within theabutment when in its open position; and c. an access provided on one ofthe walls for electrical cord passthrough, thereby providing access to apower supply for equipment contained in the storage box.
 16. The storagebox of claim 15 wherein the access is a perforated opening.
 17. Thestorage box of claim 16 further comprising a grommet that is to beinserted into the perforated opening once a disk of material is removedfrom the opening.
 18. The storage box of claim 15 wherein the access isa perforated circular hole.
 19. The storage box of claim 15 wherein theangle between the cover and the storage compartment in the open positionis 90 degrees.
 20. The storage box of claim 15 wherein the cover ismounted to one of the walls via a hinge interface.
 21. The storage boxof claim 15 wherein the cover is mounted to the back wall of the storagecompartment.